The Supreme Court on Thursday is set to deliver the judgement on the plea challenging the constitutional validity of the penal law on adultery.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had in August, reserved its order on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of Section 497 (Adultery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
During the previous hearing, the Centre had defended the validity of section 497 of the IPC before the Supreme Court, stating that adultery was a crime because it damaged marriage and the family and therefore it was a public wrong.
The court however had questioned the government's stand defending the adultery law, which punishes married men while absolving married women who are involved in a relationship outside their marriage.
The CJI had also asked the Centre how the penal provision preserved the sanctity of marriage when an extramarital affair would be non-punishable if the woman's husband stood by her.
(With inputs from Express News Service)